Array substrate, liquid crystal display panel and display device

ABSTRACT

An array substrate, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and a display device are provided. The array substrate ( 10 ) includes a base substrate ( 100 ) and a plurality of subpixels ( 103 ) disposed on the base substrate ( 100 ), wherein an area of each of the subpixels ( 103 ) includes a plurality of transmissive regions ( 105 ) and a plurality of reflective regions ( 104 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an array substrate, aliquid crystal display (LCD) panel and a display device.

BACKGROUND

With the rapid development of display technology, there is a growingemphasis on the application and innovation of displays. Of course, therequirements on display properties are also higher and higher. In ageneral transmissive LCD, images will have erosion phenomenon underdirect sun. Thus, people constantly seek for a method in which thedisplay has good contrast no matter indoors or outdoors.

Transflective technology has been one proposal for solving the problemof reduced contrast outdoors. However, there are mainly two means forachieving the transflective technology. One is single-cell-gapelectrically controlled birefringence (ECB) mode, but this modegenerally requires an additional compensating film and has poor viewingangle. The other is double-cell-gap transflective mode, but this modehas the disadvantages of complex manufacturing process, highmanufacturing cost and poor display properties.

SUMMARY

At least one embodiment of the invention provides an array substrate, aliquid crystal display panel and a display device, which can enable thedisplay panel and the display device including the array substrateaccording to the embodiment of the invention having more uniformbrightness, and improved uniformity as a whole.

At least one embodiment of the invention provides an array substrate,comprising a base substrate and a plurality of subpixels disposed on thebase substrate, wherein an area of each of the subpixels includes aplurality of transmissive regions and a plurality of reflective regions.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, the transmissive regions and the reflective regions arealternately arranged in a first direction.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, the transmissive regions and the reflective regions arealternately arranged in a second direction which is perpendicular to thefirst direction.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, wherein the plurality of transmissive regions and/or theplurality of reflective regions in the area of each of the subpixels areuniformly distributed in the each of the subpixels.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, wherein each of the subpixels is provided with a wire gridpolarizer (WGP); the WGP in each of the subpixels includes a pluralityof groups of metal wires in parallel arrangement disposed in theplurality of reflective regions; each reflective region is provided withone group of metal wires in parallel arrangement; and the plurality ofmetal wires in parallel arrangement in the WGP are configured totransmit linearly polarized light with a polarization directionperpendicular to an extension direction of the metal wires and reflectlinearly polarized light with a polarization direction parallel to theextension direction of the metal wires.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, wherein the metal wires are made of at least one selectedfrom the group consisted of aluminum, chromium, copper, silver, nickel,iron and cobalt.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, further comprising a plurality of data lines, wherein the WGPand the plurality of data lines are arranged in a same layer andinsulated from each other.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, further comprising a plurality of gate lines, wherein the WGPand the plurality of gate lines are arranged in a same layer andinsulated from each other.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, further comprising common electrode lines which are arrangedin a same layer and have a same extension direction with the gate lines,wherein the WGP in each of the subpixels is electrically connected withthe common electrode lines.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, wherein the WGP in each of the subpixels is electricallyconnected with a pixel electrode in the each of the subpixels.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, further comprising a thin film transistor, wherein the WGP ismultiplexed as a pixel electrode in each of the subpixels; and the pixelelectrode is electrically connected with a drain electrode of the thinfilm transistor.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, wherein the pixel electrode in each of the subpixels is aslit electrode.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, further comprising a common electrode, wherein the commonelectrode is disposed between the pixel electrode and the basesubstrate.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, wherein the WGP in each of the subpixels is multiplexed as acommon electrode in the each of the subpixels.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, wherein the common electrode in the each of the subpixel is aslit electrode or a comb electrode.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, further comprising a pixel electrode and a thin filmtransistor, wherein the pixel electrode is disposed between the commonelectrode and the base substrate and electrically connected with a drainelectrode of the thin film transistor.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, wherein the WGP is multiplexed as a pixel electrode and acommon electrode being arranged in a same layer and having aninterdigital structure.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, wherein in each of the subpixels, a transparent metal oxideconductive layer is disposed on the WGP.

For example, in the array substrate provided by one embodiment of theinvention, wherein in each of the subpixels, the transparent metal oxideconductive layer and the WGP have a same pattern.

At least one embodiment of the invention provides a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) panel, comprising: an array substrate and a countersubstrate which are arranged opposite to each other, and a liquidcrystal layer filled between the array substrate and the countersubstrate, the array substrate being the array substrate provided by anyembodiment of the invention.

For example, in the LCD panel provided by one embodiment of theinvention, each of the subpixels is provided with a WGP; the WGP in eachof the subpixels includes a plurality of groups of metal wires inparallel arrangement disposed in the plurality of reflective regions;each reflective region is provided with one group of metal wires inparallel arrangement; the plurality of metal wires in parallelarrangement in the WGP are configured to transmit linearly polarizedlight with a polarization direction perpendicular to an extensiondirection of the metal wires and reflect linearly polarized light with apolarization direction parallel to the extension direction of the metalwires; a lower polarizer is disposed on one side of the array substrateaway from the counter substrate; the extension direction of theplurality of metal wires in parallel arrangement is parallel to adirection of a polarization axis of the lower polarizer.

At least one embodiment of the invention provides a display devicecomprising the LCD panel provided by any embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Simple description will be given below to the accompanying drawings ofthe embodiments to provide a more clear understanding of the technicalproposals of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, thedrawings described below only involve some embodiments of the presentinvention but are not intended to limit the present invention.

FIG. 1a is a schematic top view of an array substrate provided by oneembodiment of the present invention, in which an area of one subpixelincludes a plurality of transmissive regions and a plurality ofreflective regions;

FIG. 1b is a schematic top view of an array substrate provided byanother embodiment of the present invention, in which an area of onesubpixel includes a plurality of transmissive regions and a plurality ofreflective regions;

FIG. 1c is a schematic top view of an array substrate provided byanother embodiment of the present invention, in which an area of onesubpixel includes a plurality of transmissive regions and a plurality ofreflective regions (the transmissive regions and the reflective regionsare alternately arranged in both the first direction and the seconddirection);

FIG. 1d is a schematic top view of an array substrate comprising a wiregrid polarizer (WGP), provided by one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 1e is a schematic top view of an array substrate comprising a WGP,provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2a is a schematic perspective view of a plurality of metal wires inparallel arrangement in a reflective region of the array substrateprovided by one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2b is a schematic diagram illustrating the light transmission andreflection conditions of the plurality of metal wires in parallelarrangement in the reflective region of the array substrate provided byone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3a is a schematic diagram of an array substrate comprising a WGP,provided by one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3b is a schematic sectional view (the sectional view of FIG. 3a inthe A-A′ direction) of the array substrate provided by one embodiment ofthe present invention, in which the WGP and gate lines are arranged inthe same layer;

FIG. 4a is a schematic diagram of an array substrate provided by oneembodiment of the present invention, in which a WGP is multiplexed as apixel electrode;

FIG. 4b is a schematic sectional view (the sectional view of FIG. 4a inthe A-A′ direction) of an advanced super dimension switch (ADS) modearray substrate provided by one embodiment of the present invention, inwhich a WGP is multiplexed as a pixel electrode;

FIG. 4c is a schematic sectional view of an ADS mode array substrateprovided by one embodiment of the present invention, in which a WGP ismultiplexed as a common electrode;

FIG. 4d is a schematic sectional view of an ADS mode array substrateprovided by one embodiment of the present invention, in which a WGP ismultiplexed as a pixel electrode and a transparent metal oxideconductive layer is disposed on the WGP;

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of an ADS mode array substrateprovided by one embodiment of the present invention, in which a WGP andgate lines are arranged in the same layer;

FIG. 6a is a schematic diagram of an in-plane switching (IPS) mode arraysubstrate provided by one embodiment of the present invention, in whicha WGP is multiplexed as a pixel electrode and a common electrode;

FIG. 6b is another schematic diagram of the IPS mode array substrateprovided by one embodiment of the present invention, in which the WGP ismultiplexed as the pixel electrode and the common electrode;

FIG. 6c is a schematic diagram of a pixel electrode and a commonelectrode being arranged in the same layer and having a interdigitalstructure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a display panel provided by oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a method for achieving dark state in anADS mode display panel or display device provided by one embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a method for achieving bright state inthe ADS mode display panel or display device provided by one embodimentof the present invention.

REFERENCE NUMERAL OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

10—array substrate; 20—counter substrate; 30—liquid crystal layer;100—base substrate of the array substrate; 101—data line; 102—gate line;103—subpixel; 1081—drain electrode; 1082—source electrode; 1083—activelayer; 1084—gate electrode; 1085—gate insulating layer; 104—reflectiveregion; 105—transmissive region; 106—WGP; 107—common electrode line;116—metal wire; 121—first insulating layer; 122—second insulating layer;123—common electrode; 1231—strip electrode; 1233—terminal electrode;124—pixel electrode; 1241—strip electrode; 1242—slit; 1243—terminalelectrode; 125—through hole; 130—lower polarizer; 140—backlight module;1301—polarization axis of the lower polarizer; 200—base substrate of thecounter substrate; 230—upper polarizer; 2301—polarization axis of theupper polarizer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For more clear understanding of the objectives, technical proposals andadvantages of the embodiments of the present invention, clear andcomplete description will be given below to the technical proposals ofthe embodiments of the present invention with reference to theaccompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention.Obviously, the preferred embodiments are only partial embodiments of thepresent invention but not all the embodiments. All the other embodimentsobtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts on thebasis of the embodiments of the present invention illustrated shall fallwithin the scope of protection of the present invention.

In view of controlling the backlight power and the outdoor displayproperties, many LCDs adopt the transflective mode and utilizereflective regions to reflect ambient light to achieve the effect ofluminance compensation. Generally, a display area is divided intoreflective regions and transmissive regions, in which the transmissiveregions achieve display via backlight emission and the reflectiveregions achieve display by reflecting the ambient light. Thus, under theenvironment with strong outdoor light, the display effect can becompensated by adoption of the reflective regions to reflect light.

In the transflective mode in which a wire grid polarizer (WGP) is takenas the reflective regions, one subpixel can only include one reflectiveregion and one transmissive region, so the display properties may bepoor, e.g., the brightness is nonuniform.

The embodiment of the present invention provides an array substrate,which, as illustrated in FIG. 1a , comprises a base substrate 100 and aplurality of subpixels 103 disposed on the base substrate 100. Forinstance, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the base substrate 100 is providedwith a plurality of data lines 101 and a plurality of gate lines 102which are intersected with and insulated from each other, and aplurality of subpixels 103 arranged in an array may be defined by theplurality of data lines 101 and the plurality of gate lines 102 on thebase substrate 100. It should be noted that the subpixels 103 may bedefined by the plurality of gate lines and the plurality of data linesand the present invention is not limited thereto. One subpixel 103, forinstance, includes one gate line, one data line, one pixel electrode andone switching element. The subpixel 103 is a minimum display unit in thearray substrate.

The subpixel 103 includes a plurality of transmissive regions 105 and aplurality of reflective regions 104 (not limited to the specific numberrespectively shown in the figures). For instance, the plurality oftransmissive regions 105 does not have common sides, and the pluralityof reflective regions 104 does not have common sides. “Do not havecommon sides”, for instance, refers to that patterns formed by thetransmissive regions and patterns formed by the reflective regions donot have common sides.

For instance, compared with a display mode in which one subpixel includeone transmissive region and one reflective region, in the embodiment ofthe present invention, an area of the subpixel includes a plurality oftransmissive regions and reflective regions, so that the display paneland the display device comprising the array substrate provided by theembodiment of the present invention can have more uniform brightness andgood overall uniformity. Moreover, good brightness uniformity can beobtained no matter indoors or outdoors.

For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 1a , in the subpixel 103, thetransmissive regions 105 and the reflective regions 104 are alternatelyarranged in the first direction. In the first direction, a transmissiveregion 105 is disposed between two adjacent reflective regions 104, anda reflective region 104 is disposed between two adjacent transmissiveregions 105. The first direction is the horizontal direction parallel tothe paper. The plurality in the embodiment of the present invention, forinstance, refers to more than one. For instance, both the transmissiveregions 105 and the reflective regions 104 may be strip-shaped, forinstance, be rectangular regions. But the present invention is notlimited thereto.

For instance, the transmissive region 105 and the reflective region 104may also be in other shapes except the rectangular region. For instance,the reflective region 104 may be zigzagged, saw-toothed, circular, etc.The transmissive region 105 may be zigzagged, saw-toothed, circular,etc. FIG. 1b illustrates the case that both the transmissive regions 105and the reflective regions 104 are zigzagged. No specific limitationwill be given to the shape of the transmissive regions 105 and thereflective regions 104 in the embodiment of the present invention.

For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 1c , in the subpixel 103, thetransmissive regions 105 and the reflective regions 104 not only arealternately arranged in the first direction but also are alternatelyarranged in the second direction which is perpendicular to the firstdirection. As the transmissive regions 105 and the reflective regions104 are alternately arranged in both the first direction and the seconddirection, the transmissive regions 105 and the reflective regions 104can be more uniformly distributed. Thus, the brightness distributionuniformity of the display panel comprising the array substrate providedwith the transmissive regions and the reflective regions of this typecan be more improved.

For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 1d , the subpixel 103 is providedwith a WGP 106. In the subpixel 103, the WGP 106 includes a plurality ofgroups of metal wires 116 in parallel arrangement disposed in theplurality of reflective regions 104; each reflective region 104 isprovided with one group of metal wires in parallel arrangement; and theplurality of metal wires 116 in parallel arrangement in each reflectiveregion 104 of the WGP 106 are configured to transmit linearly polarizedlight with a polarization direction perpendicular to the extensiondirection of the metal wires and reflect linearly polarized light with apolarization direction parallel to the extension direction of the metalwires. The plurality of metal wires in parallel arrangement is the WGP.FIG. 1d is a schematic diagram of a plurality of metal wires in parallelarrangement in each reflective region when both the transmissive regionsand the reflective regions are rectangular. FIG. 1e is a schematicdiagram of a plurality of metal wires in parallel arrangement in eachreflective region when both the transmissive regions and the reflectiveregions are zigzagged.

It should be noted that both FIG. 1d and FIG. 1e illustrate theplurality of metal wires in parallel arrangement in each reflectiveregion of the WGP by taking the case that the transmissive regions andthe reflective regions are alternately arranged in the first directionas an example. For instance, the case that the transmissive regions andthe reflective regions are alternately arranged in the second directionmay refer to FIG. 1c and the case that the transmissive regions and thereflective regions are alternately arranged in the first direction.

Description is given in the embodiment of the present invention bytaking the case that both the transmissive regions and the reflectiveregions are rectangular as an example.

For instance, as illustrated in FIGS. 1a to 1c , the plurality oftransmissive regions and the plurality of reflective regions in the areaof the subpixel are uniformly distributed in the subpixel. No limitationwill be given here. The plurality of transmissive regions and/or theplurality of reflective regions may also be not uniformly distributed inthe subpixel. When the plurality of transmissive regions and theplurality of reflective regions are uniformly distributed in thesubpixel, the brightness uniformity of the display panel comprising thearray substrate can be more improved.

It should be noted that the array substrate provided by the embodimentof the present invention comprises the subpixels provided with theplurality of transmissive regions and the plurality of reflectiveregions. For instance, all the subpixels in the array substrate eachinclude the plurality of transmissive regions and the plurality ofreflective regions. Or partial subpixels in the array substrate includethe plurality of transmissive regions and the plurality of reflectiveregions. For instance, the array substrate provided by the embodiment ofthe present invention may further comprise subpixels of other types. Forinstance, the subpixels of other types do not include the plurality oftransmissive regions and the plurality of reflective regions. When thearray substrate comprises the subpixels of other types, the subpixelsprovided with the plurality of transmissive regions and the plurality ofreflective regions may be uniformly distributed on the base substrateand may also be not uniformly distributed. When the subpixels providedwith the plurality of transmissive regions and the plurality ofreflective regions are uniformly distributed on the base substrate, thebrightness uniformity of the display panel comprising the arraysubstrate can be improved.

For instance, in the array substrate, the plurality of metal wires 116in parallel arrangement in the reflective region 104 may be as shown inFIG. 2a . Each reflective region 104 includes a plurality of metal wires116 in parallel arrangement.

For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 2b , the properties of the WGP isas follows: as for natural light irradiated to the WGP, linearlypolarized light parallel to the direction of the metal wires is almosttotally reflected and linearly polarized light perpendicular to thedirection of the metal wires may be transmitted.

For instance, in the WGP of the array substrate, as illustrated in FIG.2b , the width of each metal wire may be 30 nm-50 nm.

For instance, in the WGP of the array substrate, as illustrated in FIG.2b , the distance P between two adjacent metal wires may be 100-150 nm.

For instance, in the WGP of the array substrate, as illustrated in FIG.2b , the height H of each metal wire may be 100-300 nm.

The plurality of metal wires in parallel arrangement in the WGP 106 ofthe array substrate provided by the embodiment of the present inventionmay be formed by processes such as deposition of a metallic film,photoresist coating, acquisition of a photoresist pattern via exposureand development, and etching by taking the photoresist pattern as amask. For instance, the process of exposure and development may becompleted by a laser interference exposure method. That is to say, laserwith specified wavelength is irradiated to the photoresist from twodirections at the angle θ to form interference fringes for exposure, andconcave-convex grid structures with various spacing within thewavelength range of the applied laser may be obtained by the variationof θ. Thus, the plurality of metal wires in parallel arrangement of theWGP can be formed. Of course, the WGP can be also formed by other meanssuch as nano-imprint. No detailed description will be given here. Nolimitation will be given to the form of forming the WGP.

For instance, in the array substrate provided by the embodiment of thepresent invention, the WGP is generally made from metallic materials.For instance, the metal wires are nanometer metal wires. For instance,the metallic materials may include one or a combination of more selectedfrom the group consisted of aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu),zinc (Ag), a nickel (Ni), iron (Fe) and cobalt (Co). For instance, theWGP may be separately formed by one metallic film. The WGPs may also bearranged in the same layer with the normal metal wires (e.g., the gatelines and the data lines) in the array substrate. The WGP separatelyformed by one metallic film may be disposed above or below the pixelelectrode, may be electrically connected with the pixel electrode, andmay also be not electrically connected with the pixel electrode. Thus,the WGPs and the data lines and the gate lines will not be superimposed.In different examples, the WGP may be set to be arranged in the samelayer with and insulated from the data line or the gate line. Thus, theWGPs can be formed without adding new patterning process on the generalprocess of manufacturing the array substrate. Therefore, the number ofapplied masks can be saved; the manufacturing process can be reduced;the manufacturing cost can be reduced; and the production efficiency canbe improved.

For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 3a , the array substrate comprisesa base substrate 100 and a TFT 108, a data line 101, a gate line 102 anda subpixel 103 disposed on the base substrate 100. A WGP in the subpixel103 includes a plurality of groups of metal wires 116 in parallelarrangement. The figure illustrates five groups of metal wires inparallel arrangements. But the plurality of metal wires in parallelarrangements is not limited to the five groups in the figure. Areflective region 104 is formed by each group of metal wires 116 inparallel arrangement, and a transmissive region 105 is disposed betweentwo adjacent reflective regions 104. The plurality of metal wires 116 inparallel arrangement are not superimposed with both the data line andthe gate line.

For instance, FIG. 3b is a schematic sectional view in which WGP and thegate line are arranged in the same layer. A gate line 102 and a gateelectrode 1084 are arranged in the same layer. The figure may be thesectional view of FIG. 3a in the A-A′ direction. In the array substrate,the gate electrode 1084 and the WGP 106 are disposed on the basesubstrate 100. A gate insulating layer 1085 is disposed on a layerprovided with the gate electrode 1084 and the WGP 106; an active layer1083 is disposed on the gate insulating layer 1085; a source electrode1082 and a drain electrode 1081 are disposed on a layer provided withthe active layer 1083, are spaced from each other, are both connectedwith the active layer 1083, and are respectively disposed on both sidesof the active layer 1083; a first insulating layer 121 is disposed on alayer provided with the drain electrode 1081 and the source electrode1082; and a pixel electrode 124 is disposed on the first insulatinglayer 121 and electrically connected with the drain electrode 1081 ofthe TFT 108 via a through hole 125.

On this basis, the plurality of metal wires in parallel arrangement inthe WGP of the array substrate provided by the embodiment of the presentinvention not only are taken as the reflective regions but also may bemultiplexed as the pixel electrodes and the common electrodes or takenas storage capacitors. Description will be given below with reference toseveral specific embodiments.

First Embodiment

In the embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4a , in the array substrate, apixel electrode and a WGP are multiplexed. For instance, the WGP 106 ineach subpixel is multiplexed as the pixel electrode which iselectrically connected with a drain electrode 1081 of a TFT 108 disposedat an intersected position of a data line 101 and a gate line 102. Thedrain electrode 1081 is generally arranged in the same layer with thedata line 101.

For instance, in an ADS mode array substrate as shown in FIG. 4b , agate electrode 1084 is disposed on a base substrate 100; a gateinsulating layer 1085 is disposed on a layer provided with the gateelectrode 1084; an active layer 1083 is disposed on the gate insulatinglayer 1085; a source electrode 1082 and a drain electrode 1081 aredisposed on a layer provided with the active layer 1083, are spaced fromeach other, are both connected with the active layer 1083, and arerespectively disposed on both sides of the active layer 1083; a firstinsulating layer 121 is disposed on a layer provided with the drainelectrode 1081 and the source electrode 1082; a common electrode 123 isdisposed on the first insulating layer 121; a second insulating layer122 is disposed on a layer provided with the common electrode 123; and apixel electrode 124 is disposed on the second insulating layer 122 andelectrically connected with the drain electrode 1081 of the TFT 108 viaa through hole 125. In the subpixel, the WGP 106 is multiplexed as thepixel electrode; each subpixel 103 includes a plurality of transmissiveregions 105 and a plurality of reflective regions 104; and thetransmissive regions 105 and the reflective regions 104 are alternatelyarranged (alternately arranged in the first direction). A transmissiveregion 105 is disposed between two adjacent reflective regions 104. Areflective region 104 is disposed between two adjacent transmissiveregions 105.

For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 4a , the pixel electrode 124 is aslit electrode and includes a terminal electrode 1243 and a plurality ofstrip electrodes 1241 connected with the terminal electrode 1243, and aslit 1242 is formed between two adjacent strip electrodes 1241. The WGPin the subpixel is multiplexed as the slit pixel electrode. The WGP inthe subpixel includes a plurality of groups of metal wires 116 inparallel arrangement. FIG. 4a illustrates four groups of metal wires 116in parallel arrangement, but the plurality of metal wires 116 inparallel arrangement are not limited to the four groups in the figure.An area of each group of metal wires 116 in parallel arrangement is thereflective region 104. An area of the slit of the pixel electrode is thetransmissive region 105. The plurality of metal wires 116 in parallelarrangement in the WGP 106 are configured to transmit linearly polarizedlight with a polarization direction perpendicular to the extensiondirection of the metal wires 116 and reflect linearly polarized lightwith a polarization direction parallel to the extension direction of themetal wires 116.

For instance, the width of one strip electrode in each pixel electrode(the width of the reflective region) may be 1.5-4 μm, and moreover, maybe 2-3 μm. The distance between two adjacent strip electrodes of eachpixel electrode (the width of the slit, the width of the transmissiveregion) may be 1-9 μm, and moreover, may be 2-8 μm, and furthermore, maybe 3-7 μm.

For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 4b , the common electrode 123 isdisposed between the pixel electrode 124 and the base substrate 100. Ineach subpixel, the common electrode, for instance, may be a plateelectrode. The present invention is not limited thereto.

As illustrated in FIG. 4c , in an ADS mode array substrate, the commonelectrode 123 may also be disposed above the pixel electrode 124, namelythe pixel electrode 124 is disposed between the common electrode 123 andthe base substrate 100. In this case, the WGP 106 may be multiplexed asthe common electrode 123 in the subpixel 103.

When oxidizable metal such as Al is adopted to manufacture the WGP 106multiplexed as the pixel electrode, as Al is oxidizable, in order tobetter prevent the manufactured WGP 106 from being oxidized, forinstance, as illustrated in FIG. 4d , a transparent metal oxideconductive layer 126, e.g., an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer, may also bedisposed on the WGP 106 in the subpixel. Moreover, as the transparentmetal oxide conductive layer 126 disposed on the WGP 106 must bedisconnected in the subpixel, the additional transparent metal oxideconductive layer 126 must be inevitably patterned, and hence themanufacturing process of the array substrate can be increased. In orderto avoid increasing the manufacturing process of the array substrate,for instance, patterns of the transparent metal oxide conductive layer126 and the WGP 106 in the subpixel may be set to be same. Thus, thepatterns of the transparent metal oxide conductive layer 126 and the WGP106 may be simultaneously formed by one patterning process withoutincreasing the number of applied masks.

For instance, the pixel electrode is not limited to be a slit electrode,as long as the pixel electrode is provided with a plurality oftransmissive regions and a plurality of reflective regions.

For instance, the WGP may also be not multiplexed as the pixelelectrode, for instance, may be arranged in the same layer with the gateline or the data line. For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the gateline and the gate electrode are arranged in the same layer and patteredby the same metallic film, so the WGP is arranged in the same layer withthe gate line and the gate electrode. In this case, in the subpixel 103,the transmissive regions 105 and the reflective regions 104 not only arealternately arranged in the first direction but also are alternatelyarranged in the second direction which is perpendicular to the firstdirection.

It should be noted that description is given in FIGS. 4b, 4c, 4d and 5by taking the ADS mode array substrate as an example. But the presentinvention is not limited thereto. For instance, the array substrateprovided by the embodiment of the present invention may also be an IPSmode, twisted nematic (TN) mode or vertical alignment (VA) mode arraysubstrate.

For instance, in the TN mode or VA mode array substrate, the WGP mayalso be multiplexed as the pixel electrode. Similarly, in the TN mode orVA mode array substrate, the WGP may also be arranged in the same layerwith a general metal wire. For instance, the WGP may be set to bearranged in the same layer with and insulated from the data line or thegate line.

Second Embodiment

In the embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 6a and 6b , a pixel electrodeand a common electrode and a WGP in an IPS mode array substrate aremultiplexed. For instance, in the structure of the IPS mode arraysubstrate, the pixel electrode and the common electrode in each subpixelare arranged in the same layer in an interdigital structure. Therefore,in the subpixel, the WGP 106 is multiplexed as the pixel electrode andthe common electrode in the interdigital structure (e.g., the pixelelectrode and the common electrode are fingerlike or comb-shaped); theWGP 106 multiplexed as the pixel electrode is electrically connectedwith a drain electrode 1081 of a TFT disposed at an intersected positionof a data line 101 and a gate line 102; and the drain electrode 1081 maybe arranged in the same layer with the data line 101. The subpixel 103includes a plurality of transmissive regions 105 and a plurality ofreflective regions 104, and the transmissive regions 105 and thereflective regions 104 are alternately arranged. The transmissive region105 is disposed between two adjacent reflective regions 104. Thereflective region 104 is disposed between two adjacent transmissiveregions 105.

As illustrated in FIG. 6c , the pixel electrode 124 of the interdigitalstructure includes a terminal electrode 1243 and a plurality of stripelectrodes 1241 (the number of the strip electrodes is not limited tothe number in the figure) connected with the terminal electrode 1243.The common electrode of the interdigital structure includes a terminalelectrode 1233 and a plurality of strip electrodes 1231 (the number ofthe strip electrodes is not limited to the number in the figure)connected with the terminal electrode 1233. A plurality of groups ofmetal wires in parallel arrangement in the WGP 106 are combined to formthe strip electrodes 1241 of the pixel electrode and the stripelectrodes 1231 of the common electrode. For instance, areas of theplurality of strip electrodes 1241 and 1231 of the pixel electrode andthe common electrode are reflective regions, and transmissive regionsare disposed between the strip electrodes 1241 of adjacent pixelelectrodes and between strip electrodes 1231 of the common electrode.

For instance, when the WGP 106 is arranged in the same layer with thedata line 101, as illustrated in FIG. 6a , at this point, as the WGP 106taken as the pixel electrode and the common electrode is arranged in thesame layer with the drain electrode 1081 of the TFT, a portion of theWGP 106 taken as the pixel electrode 124 may be directly electricallyconnected with the drain electrode 1081; a portion of the WGP 106 takenas the common electrode 123 is connected with a common electrode line107 via a through hole; and the common electrode line 107 may bearranged in the same layer with the gate line 102 and the gate electrode1084. When the WGP 106 is arranged in the same layer with the gate line102, as illustrated in FIG. 6b , at this point, as the WGP 106 taken asthe pixel electrode and the common electrode is arranged in the samelayer with the gate electrode 1084 of the TFT, a portion of the WGP 106taken as the pixel electrode 124 is electrically connected with thedrain electrode 1081 via a through hole, and a portion of the WGP 106taken as the common electrode 123 is directly connected with the commonelectrode line 107 which may be arranged in the same layer with the gateline 102 and the gate electrode 1084.

For instance, in the process of manufacturing the IPS mode arraysubstrate as shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b , the WGP 106 taken as the pixelelectrode and the common electrode is set to be simultaneouslymanufactured with the data line 101 or the gate line 102, so the pixelelectrode and the common electrode separately formed on the drainelectrode can be saved, and hence the number of applied masks and themanufacturing process can be reduced.

Moreover, when the WGP 106 multiplexed as the pixel electrode and thecommon electrode is arranged in the same layer with the data line 101,no overcoat is disposed on the WGP 106 which is hence oxidizable.Therefore, in order to better prevent the manufactured WGP 106 frombeing oxidized, for instance, an oxide conductive layer may also beadditionally arranged by the same means in the first embodiment, namelyin the subpixel, a transparent metal oxide conductive layer, e.g., anITO layer, is disposed on the WGP 106. Similarly, in order to avoidincreasing the manufacturing process of the array substrate, forinstance, in the subpixel, patterns of the transparent metal oxideconductive layer and the WGP 106 may also be set to be same.

Third Embodiment

In the embodiment, a WGP may be connected with a pixel electrode and mayalso be connected with a common electrode line and taken as one part ofa storage capacitor.

For instance, when the pixel electrode is separately disposed in thesubpixel (the WGP is not multiplexed as the pixel electrode), the WGP106 in the subpixel may be electrically connected with the pixelelectrode to form one part of the storage capacitor, so that the storagecapacitance can be increased, and hence the display resolution of thedevice can be improved. Or when the common electrode line and the gateline in the array substrate are arranged in the same layer and have sameextension direction, in the subpixel, the WGP 106 may be electricallyconnected with the common electrode line to form one part of the storagecapacitor, so that the storage capacitance can be increased, and hencethe display resolution of the device can be improved.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides an LCD panel,which, as illustrated in FIG. 7, comprises an array substrate 10 and ancounter substrate 20 arranged opposite to each other, and a liquidcrystal layer 30 filled between the array substrate 10 and the countersubstrate 20.

For instance, the array substrate 10 is any foregoing array substrateprovided by the embodiment of the present invention.

For instance, the counter substrate and the array substrate are arrangedopposite to each other and are respectively upper and lower substratesof the display panel; display structures such as a TFT array aregenerally formed on the array substrate; and CF resin is formed on thecounter substrate. For instance, the counter substrate is a CFsubstrate. The counter substrate may include CF units corresponding tothe subpixels on the array substrate and may also include black matrixes(BMs), etc.

For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 7, an upper polarizer 230 isdisposed on one side of the counter substrate 20 away from the arraysubstrate 10; a lower polarizer 130 is disposed on one side of the arraysubstrate 10 away from the counter substrate 20; the subpixel 103 is allprovided with a WGP 106 which may refer to the above description; andthe extension direction of a plurality of metal wires in the WGP 106 isparallel to the direction of a polarization axis (transmission axis) ofthe lower polarizer 130. The polarizer only transmits light in thedirection of the polarization axis.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the LCD panel provided by theembodiment of the present invention may generally further comprise abacklight module 140 disposed on the outside of the array substrate. Forinstance, the backlight module may include an LED lamp component, areflector and a light guide plate (LGP), and of course, may also includeother components. No limitation will be given here.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a displaydevice, which comprises any foregoing LCD panel.

For instance, the display device may be: any product or component withdisplay function such as a mobile phone, a watch, a tablet PC, a TV, adisplay, a notebook computer, a digital picture frame and a navigator.The embodiments of the display device may refer to the embodiments ofthe LCD panel. No further description will be given here.

For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 7, in the display panel or displaydevice provided by the embodiment of the present invention, thedirections of the polarization axes of the upper polarizer 230 and thelower polarizer 130 are perpendicular to each other. For instance, thedirection of the polarization axis of the upper polarizer 230 is thex-axis direction, and the direction of the polarization axis of thelower polarizer 130 is the y-axis direction. The y axis is the directionperpendicular to the paper, and the x axis is the horizontal directionparallel to the paper. Thus, the extension direction of a plurality ofmetal wires in the WGP is parallel to the direction of the polarizationaxis of the lower polarizer 130, namely the extension direction of theplurality of metal wires is the y-axis direction. The initial alignmentdirection of liquid crystal molecules is the y-axis direction.

It should be noted that FIG. 7 only illustrates partial structures ofthe display panel or the display device and those not involved may referto the above description or the conventional design.

Description will be given below to methods for achieving bright stateand dark state in the display panel or the display device provided bythe embodiment of the present invention. The method for achieving darkstate is as shown in FIG. 8.

No voltage is applied to the liquid crystal cell, so the initialdirection of the liquid crystal molecules is the y-axis direction. Asfor the reflective regions, ambient light is converted into linearlypolarized light in the x direction after running through the upperpolarizer, and the linearly polarized light in the x direction may runthrough the reflective regions and is finally absorbed when arriving atthe lower polarizer, so no reflective light is produced, and hence thedark state is achieved. As for the transmissive regions, as the samewith the conventional technology, the ambient light is converted intolinearly polarized light in the x direction after running through theupper polarizer, and the linearly polarized light in the x direction mayrun through the transmissive regions (the transmissive regions maytransmit natural light) and is finally absorbed when arriving at thelower polarizer, so no reflective light is produced, and hence the darkstate is achieved.

As for the light from a backlight, the light is converted into linearlypolarized light in the y direction when running through the lowerpolarizer; as for the reflective regions, the linearly polarized lightin the y direction cannot run through the WGP (the extension directionof the plurality of metal wires in the WGP is parallel to the directionof the polarization axis of the lower polarizer); and as for thetransmissive regions, the linearly polarized light in the y direction isalso in the y direction after running through the liquid crystalmolecules and cannot run through the upper polarizer of which thepolarization axis is in the x direction, so the light from the backlightcannot run through the upper polarizer as well, and hence the dark statecan be achieved.

The method for achieving bright state is as shown in FIG. 9.

When voltage is applied to the liquid crystal cell, liquid crystalmolecules will rotate along the x-y plane. Supposing that the phasedelay of liquid crystal molecules in the brightest state is λ/2.

As for the reflective region, natural light will be converted intolinearly polarized light in the x direction after running through theupper polarizer from the top down, and the linearly polarized light inthe x direction will be converted into linearly polarized light in the ydirection after running through the liquid crystal molecules. Thelinearly polarized light in the y direction cannot run through the WGPin the reflective region and is reflected and converted into linearlypolarized light in the x direction after running through the liquidcrystal molecules again, and the linearly polarized light in the xdirection can run through the upper polarizer, so that the bright stateis achieved. As for the transmissive region, the linearly polarizedlight in the y direction can run through the transmissive region and canrun through the lower polarizer and arrive at the backlight.

As for the transmissive region, as the same with the conventionaltechnology, as for the light from the backlight, the light from thebacklight is converted into linearly polarized light in the y directionafter running through the lower polarizer. The linearly polarized lightin the y direction can run through the transmissive region and isconverted into linearly polarized light in the x direction after runningthrough the liquid crystal molecules, and the linearly polarized lightin the x direction can run through the upper polarizer and run throughthe liquid crystal cell, and hence the bright state is achieved. Whenthe light from the backlight arrives at the reflective region, thelinearly polarized light in the y direction cannot run through the WGPin the reflective region and is reflected.

The transmissive regions achieve display via backlight emission, and thereflective regions achieve display by reflecting the ambient light.Thus, bright-state display can be achieved. It should be noted thatalthough FIG. 8 illustrates the ADS mode array substrate in which theWGP is multiplexed as the pixel electrode, the methods for achieving thebright state and the dark state are not limited to this case. Othermodes or cases provided by the embodiment of the present invention mayalso refer to the methods for achieving the bright state and the darkstate.

In the embodiment of the present invention, each subpixel includes theplurality of transmissive regions and the plurality of reflectiveregions, so the transflective display panel and display devicecomprising the array substrate provided with the subpixels of this typehave more uniform brightness and good overall uniformity.

For instance, the transflective display mode can be achieved by thearrangement of the WGP in the reflective regions, so that thetransflective display panel and display device having the advantages ofsingle cell gap, no additional compensating film, more uniformbrightness and good overall uniformity can be obtained.

For instance, the transmissive regions and the reflective regions may bealternately arranged, and the transmissive regions 105 and thereflective regions 104 may be alternately arranged in the firstdirection. In addition, the transmissive regions 105 and the reflectiveregions 104 may also be alternately arranged in the second directionwhich is perpendicular to the first direction. Thus, the brightnessdistribution uniformity of the display panel comprising the arraysubstrate provided with the transmissive regions and the reflectiveregions of this type can be more improved.

Moreover, the WGP may be multiplexed as the pixel electrode. Or the WGPand the gate line or the data line may also be arranged in the samelayer, and the WGP is manufactured without the addition of a newpatterning process on the basis of the conventional manufacturingprocess of the array substrate, so the number of the applied masks andthe manufacturing process can be reduced, and hence the manufacturingcost can be reduced and the production efficiency can be improved.

The array substrate, the LCD panel and the display device provided bythe embodiment of the present invention can achieve the transflectivedisplay mode having the advantages of more uniform brightness, goodoverall uniformity, wide viewing angle, single cell gap, simple processand no additional compensating film. Thus, the problem of poor viewingangle in the conventional transflective mode can be solved.

Compared with the conventional single-cell-gap ECB mode anddouble-cell-gap transflective mode, the display panel and the displaydevice provided by the embodiment of the present invention have theadvantages of simpler structure, no additional compensating film andcapability of achieving wide viewing angle display.

It should be noted that:

(1) Unless otherwise specified, the technical terms or scientific termsused herein should have normal meanings understood by those skilled inthe art. The words “first”, “second” and the like used in the disclosuredo not indicate the sequence, the number or the importance but are onlyused for distinguishing different components.

(2) In the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the presentinvention, the thickness of the film layers and the shape of the areasdo not reflect the true scale of the array substrate and are onlyintended to illustrate the content of the embodiments of the presentinvention. It should be understood that when an element such as a layer,a film, an area and a substrate is disposed “above” or “below” anotherelement, the element may be directly disposed “on” or “beneath” anotherelement, or an intermediate element may be provided.

(3) The embodiments and the accompanying drawings of the presentinvention only involve the structures involved in the embodiments of thepresent invention, and other structures may refer to the conventionaldesign on the basis of the disclosure.

(4) The embodiments of the present invention and the characteristics inthe embodiments may be mutually combined without conflict.

The foregoing is only the preferred embodiments of the present inventionand not intended to limit the scope of protection of the presentinvention. Any change or replacement that may be easily thought of bythose skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by thepresent invention shall fall within the scope of protection of thepresent invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the presentinvention shall be defined by the appended claims.

The application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No.201510483267.5, filed on Aug. 3, 2015, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference as part of the application.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An array substrate, comprising a basesubstrate and a plurality of subpixels disposed on the base substrate,wherein an area of each of the subpixels includes a plurality oftransmissive regions and a plurality of reflective regions, wherein eachof the subpixels is provided with a wire grid polarizer (WGP); the WGPin each of the subpixels includes a plurality of groups of metal wiresin parallel arrangement disposed in the plurality of reflective regions;each reflective region is provided with one group of metal wires inparallel arrangement; and the plurality of metal wires in parallelarrangement in the WGP are configured to transmit linearly polarizedlight with a polarization direction perpendicular to an extensiondirection of the metal wires and reflect linearly polarized light with apolarization direction parallel to the extension direction of the metalwires, wherein, the array substrate further comprises: a plurality ofgate lines, wherein the WGP and the plurality of gate lines are arrangedin a same layer and insulated from each other; and common electrodelines which are arranged in a same layer and have a same extensiondirection with the gate lines, wherein the WGP in each of the subpixelsis electrically connected with the common electrode lines.
 2. The arraysubstrate according to claim 1, wherein the transmissive regions and thereflective regions are alternately arranged in a first direction.
 3. Thearray substrate according to claim 2, wherein the transmissive regionsand the reflective regions are alternately arranged in a seconddirection which is perpendicular to the first direction.
 4. The arraysubstrate according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of transmissiveregions and/or the plurality of reflective regions in the area of eachof the subpixels are uniformly distributed in the each of the subpixels.5. The array substrate according to claim 1, wherein the metal wires aremade of at least one selected from the group consisted of aluminum,chromium, copper, silver, nickel, iron and cobalt.
 6. The arraysubstrate according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of datalines, wherein the WGP and the plurality of data lines are arranged in asame layer and insulated from each other.
 7. The array substrateaccording to claim 1, wherein the WGP in each of the subpixels iselectrically connected with a pixel electrode in the each of thesubpixels.
 8. The array substrate according to claim 1, furthercomprising a thin film transistor, wherein the WGP is multiplexed as apixel electrode in each of the subpixels; and the pixel electrode iselectrically connected with a drain electrode of the thin filmtransistor.
 9. The array substrate according to claim 8, wherein thepixel electrode in each of the subpixels is a slit electrode or a combelectrode.
 10. The array substrate according to claim 1, wherein the WGPin each of the subpixels is multiplexed as a common electrode in theeach of the subpixels.
 11. The array substrate according to claim 10,wherein the common electrode in the each of the subpixel is a slitelectrode.
 12. The array substrate according to claim 1, wherein the WGPis multiplexed as a pixel electrode and a common electrode beingarranged in a same layer and having an interdigital structure.
 13. Thearray substrate according to claim 1, wherein in each of the subpixels,a transparent metal oxide conductive layer is disposed on the WGP. 14.The array substrate according to claim 13, wherein in each of thesubpixels, the transparent metal oxide conductive layer and the WGP havea same pattern.
 15. A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, comprising: anarray substrate and a counter substrate which are arranged opposite toeach other, and a liquid crystal layer filled between the arraysubstrate and the counter substrate, wherein the array substrate is thearray substrate according to claim
 1. 16. A display device, comprisingthe LCD panel according to claim 15.